Aurora's Blog

If you’re not already using a read later type of app, I am about to change your life. Ready for this?

I’m absolutely in love with an app called Pocket.

I want to sing out this love to the world, and encourage you to go check it out, and get it for free in the App Store if you don’t have it already.

I’ve mentioned this before. I’m currently on a quest to organize my whole life – every bit of the real world physical stuff, and every bit of the computer/phone/online stuff.

Way too often on twitter, I see an interesting article or video but don’t have time to read it or watch it at the time – or I want to wait until I’m on a bigger screen than my phone.

I’ve favorited so very many tweets with the intention of the favorite being sort of a bookmark reminding me to go back and read the tweet later. Today, I found the easiest way to bookmark those articles!

Of what a fool I was to have been using favorites all of this time when I could’ve just been using Pocket!

You can set up you “read later” preferences in twitter to work with Pocket. Anytime a cool link pops up in a tweet, you just press that little area in the lower right corner that gives you more options – and bam, read later appears.

Ready for the best part? When you open pocket, it downloads all the articles for you! After they’re downloaded, you can read them when you are out of a wi-fi zone!

Below ground in the subway? On a United flight? (I picked them, ’cause I heard more of their flights don’t have wi-fi yet.) On a bus trip out to Burbank? No problem! Just open your pocket app and read everything about everything!

(Videos don’t work offline, but I like reading better anyway.)

Also, when articles are downloaded into pocket and are taken from their original form to a crisp, clean, uniform look – I realize how short and easily digestible they really are!

Of course, not only can you get links from twitter put into Pocket for later. I think it’s compatible with Facebook. You can also put a button into Safari. It works with HootSuite, and who even knows what else? Well, I’m sure Pocket’s website knows what else. But a lot is the point.

It’s so handy to always have something to read just hanging out waiting for you in this nice, organized place.

And here we go. This is where my mind was absolutely blown! If you’re a big reader of blogs, you may want to sit down for this one. (Unless you’re already way on the up and up on these sorts of apps/are super knowledgable about RSS feeds – and if that’s the case, why haven’t you been shouting it from the rooftops to the rest of us?)

I like some blogs across a number of different platforms. I’d been wishing I could find a way to very easily find them all in one place. Of course, it’s not excruciatingly hard to bookmark them and check them each day, or set up RSS feeds to my email (or many have email subscription options set up) (though I’d really prefer not to increase my level numbers of emails).

BUT, I now know the perfect solution. First, you need to get your Pocket app. (Or don’t get the app. You can still sign up on a desktop if you don’t like mobile.)

Go here to set up a recipe on If This, Then That. (I think you’ll have to sign into Pocket, and possibly confirm your subscription to If This, Then That.) When setting up your recipe, just type in the feed for your favorite blog. (For this one it’s: http://feeds.feedburner.com/AuroraDeLucias blog. (/AurorasBlog was taken. Wah wah.))

Once the recipe is all set up, new blog posts will automatically come to your pocket app!(!!!) You can basically set up your own little newspaper for yourself of all your favorite bloggers. Yes, it may sound a bit monotonous or slightly time consuming-ish to set up your feeds to your pocket. But then, you don’t ever have to get your blogs anywhere else if you don’t want to! You can eliminate email subscriptions and human-error forgetfulness.

I think this is beautiful.

(If you have a simpler way to get blog posts into your Pocket, of course, feel free to let me know.)

My mind is blown. I’m so very happy. And I adore Pocket.

Now, if you like my blog, please – go put me in your pocket!